 |
|
|
|||||
|
|
November 9, 2006 Pasture and Hay Land Insurance Now Available for Western North Dakota
Extremely dry conditions in many parts of western North Dakota during this past growing season reduced the amount of forage available for grazing livestock and hay production. The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) has developed a pilot insurance program for pastures and hay land for 2007. The insurance will be available from private crop insurance agents, with a closing date for sales set at Nov. 30, 2006. Coverage is available for land in 24 counties: Adams, Billings, Bowman, Burke, Burleigh, Divide, Dunn, Emmons, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, Logan, McIntosh, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Oliver, Sioux, Slope, Stark, Ward and Williams. A different pilot policy based on a vegetation index is available in western South Dakota, but there are no pilot programs for Montana and Minnesota. The Rainfall Index policy available in North Dakota is a single-peril policy based on lack of precipitation. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rainfall data is used for the approximate 12-mile by 15-mile grids that have been identified. Producers must select at least two of the two-month periods, (February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September, October/November or December/January), called index intervals, which is when precipitation is important in the production of forage. Insurance payments are calculated based on a deviation from normal precipitation levels within the grid and index intervals. Producers can select coverage levels of 90 percent, 85 percent, 80 percent, 75 percent or 70 percent, and the premiums are subsidized by RMA at 55 percent, 59 percent and 64 percent. A productivity factor ranging from 60 percent to 150 percent also must be selected. The factor is based on a producer’s estimate of how the insured acres compare with other land in the county. The provisions of the contract are complex, so producers are urged to contact a crop insurance agent for details that are appropriate for local geographic areas. Fact sheets, policy provisions, grid locators, historical indexes and decision support tools are available at the RMA Web site at www2.rma.usda.gov/policies/pasturerangeforage. Educational presentations with details and examples for Morton and Ward counties are available on my Web Site at www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/lsmkt/livestock.htm. Rainfall was below average in many of the eligible counties in 2006. For example, grid number 18138 in southwest McIntosh County recorded rainfall at 51.6 percent of normal in February/March, 60.2 percent in April/May and 49.2 percent in June/July index intervals. Had the Rainfall Index policy been available in 2006, many western North Dakota producers with grazing and hay land may have benefited from it. ### Source:
Tim Petry, (701) 231-7469, tpetry@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
Market Advisor: |
|
North Dakota State University |
